I’ve meant to read Mark Lawrence’s novels for quite some time. Other things have always crowded out his titles on my TBR, for whatever reason, however. But One Word Kill sounded like exactly the sort of story I love. A sci-fi tale involving quantum mechanics, healthy doses of D&D, and an amazing group of characters? Count me in any day of the week.

I don’t want to spoil anything from this amazing novel, so I’ll basically just restate the blurb from the back of the book. Nick Hayes, our protagonist, has just discovered that he has cancer. This means massive change to his fifteen-year-old life, but those changes are minor in comparison to what’s in store. The story Lawrence crafts here follows Nick and his group of friends. The first note I made as I was reading, and this was only a couple pages into the novel, was “Lawrence does an incredible job of setting the ambiance and getting us into Nick’s head. It’s just excellent,” and that really could stand as my comment for the entire novel. What makes all of this work, and makes One Word Kill stand out above other similar novels is the emotion Lawrence manages to cram into almost every page. From the fear of being told one has cancer, to the joy of gathering for a game of D&D with friends, to the pain of losing people close to us, to the need to be loved and cared for, Lawrence excels at making you feel with his characters. There are some healthy doses of nostalgia for those of us who grew up somewhat outcast in our communities, but the emotion of these characters connects at a much deeper level than that. Not only does Lawrence excel at giving his story emotional impact, he does so because he crafts such real and believable characters. Then he puts them in an adventure with plenty of twists and turns, and no shortage of pulse-pounding scenes. This is a wonderful, brilliant read that I can’t recommend highly enough. Just when you think you have things figured out, Lawrence offers another reveal that keeps you guessing and moves the narrative in unexpected directions. It’s masterful.

There are few weaknesses to this novel. One that I did notice, however, is that there was a moment when I questioned exactly what the motivations of some of Nick’s friends were. How it was that they were joining him on this insane quest. It’s likely that other folks won’t have the same experience at that moment in the story, but it did give me pause. It was noticeable only because I was completely and totally engaged with the characters and story every other millisecond of reading this novel.

One Word Kill is nearly everything I could possibly want in a quick, sci-fi coming-of-age tale. I couldn’t put it down and I’m confident you won’t be able to either. Pick it up as soon as you can and get ready for an incredible ride.

9.5/10
4.75/5 stars.

5 – I loved this, couldn’t put it down, move it to the top of your TBR pile
4 – I really enjoyed this, add it to the TBR pile
3 – It was ok, depending on your preferences it may be worth your time
2 – I didn’t like this book, it has significant flaws and I can’t recommend it
1 – I loathe this book with a most loathsome loathing